New record for salmon exports set

Norway has exported 2.7 million tonnes of seafood to reach a new record of EUR 10 billion in 2018. This represents a volume increase of 4 per cent and a value increase of 5 per cent, or EUR 468 million compared to 2017. This equates to 37 million meals of seafood every day of 2018, or 25,700 meals per minute.

Magical
«Norway exported seafood at record levels totalling NOK 99 billion* in 2018. Although we did not pass the magical NOK 100 billion marker**, this has been another good year for Norwegian seafood exports. In summary, records were broken for Norwegian seafood, both in terms of export value and export volume in 2018. This despite Brexit, the threat of trade wars and other challenges that have together created unpredictability in the world market. Seafood exports to the EU market have increased due to lower competition and a favourable currency situation against the euro. We see a decline in seafood exports to Asia, as a result of increased competition and continued challenging market access to China», says Renate Larsen, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council.

Over the past 10 years, the value of Norwegian seafood exports has increased by 156 per cent.
The relationship between aquaculture and fisheries has changed little since 2017, said the The Norwegian Seafood Council, the public company owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. Aquaculture accounts for 72 per cent of export value, and 40.5 per cent of the volume of total seafood exports for 2018.

Norway has exported 1.1 million tonnes of aquaculture fish with a value of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. Volume has increased by 5 per cent, while the export value has increased by EUR 346 billion or 5 per cent from 2017.

Salmon
Salmon has the largest share of any species measured in terms of both export volume and export value. Norway has exported 1.1 million tonnes of salmon worth EUR 6.9 billion in 2018. This is a volume increase of 5 per cent, and an increase in value of EUR 325 billion or 5 per cent from 2017.

84 per cent of salmon is exported as unprocessed product, with 16 per cent processed before export.

«Increased demand for Norwegian salmon in the EU market has contributed to Norwegian salmon exports to the EU exceeding 73 per cent, up from 71 per cent in 2017. Poland is the largest growth market in 2018, with exports increasing from NOK 1.1 billion to NOK 8.8 billion***», says Aandah

Trout is the second most significant exported farmed species. Norway has exported 46,400 tonnes of trout worth EUR 30 million in 2018. This is an increase of 16 per cent by volume, and EUR 12.9 million or 5 per cent by value compared to 2017.

«The volume growth of 16 per cent for trout exports is the result of normalization following low export volumes in 2017», explains Aandahl.

«Once again, a new record has been set for Norwegian seafood exports. We have every reason to be proud of that. This is a good and significant result for the Norwegian economy. The seafood industry contributes to value creation and jobs across the country», says Fisheries Minister Harald Tom Nesvik.

«While the value of exports has increased by 60 per cent over the past five years, the volume has increased by almost 10 per cent. Greater volume growth is therefore highly desirable in order to develop the industry further. Our goal is for the industry to continue to grow, and as Minister for Fisheries, I work towards this goal every single day», added Nesvik.

Key species for Norwegian seafood exports
«In 2018, record export values were measured for salmon, cod, saithe and king crab. We observe a trend that Norwegian seafood is often imported to another country for processing before distribution to its final consumer market. Typical transit or processing markets for Norwegian seafood are Poland, Denmark and the Netherlands», says Paul T. Aandahl, Seafood Analyst at the Norwegian Seafood Council.

Norway has exported 1.7 million tonnes of seafood to the EU worth EUR 6.7 billion in 2018. This is an increase of 8 per cent, while the value increased by EUR 519 million or 8 per cent compared to 2017.

A decline in seafood exports to Asia. Norway has exported 478,000 tonnes of seafood worth EUR 1.8 billion billion to Asia in 2018. This is a volume decline of 12 per cent, while export value fell by 5 per cent compared to 2017.

Weak growth but
Norwegian Seafood Council revealed that there has been weak growth in Eastern Europe. Norway has exported 172,000 tonnes of seafood for EUR 366 million to Eastern Europe in 2018. This is a decrease of 5 per cent, while the value increased by EUR 8.6 million or 2 per cent from 2017.

2018 was the first year in which a single market exceeded NOK 10 billion in export value. Poland was Norway’s largest single market measured in export value in 2018, with 228,000 tonnes of seafood worth EUR 10 billion in 2018. This represents a volume increase of 17 per cent and an increase in export value of EUR 10 billion or 14 per cent compared to 2017 .

In 2018, Denmark was the second largest market for Norwegian seafood in terms of export value. Norway has exported seafood totalling EUR 876 million to Denmark in 2018. This is an increase of EUR 44.6 million or 5 per cent from the previous year. The largest growth market outside Poland in 2018 was the UK with growth of EUR 97 million or 18 per cent with a total export value of EUR 631 thousand. This makes Britain the fourth most important market for Norwegian seafood exports in 2018.